Florida Keys Hotels

One of the first things to figure out on any trip is where to lay your head. Whether you're looking to kick back in the lap of luxury, dip your toes in the sand, stretch a shoestring budget or cozy up somewhere sweet and Inn-style, the hotels of {0} are ready to tuck you in and treat you right. You'll sleep well.

First-time visitors to the Florida Keys comment almost immediately on the island chain's unique laid-back atmosphere that is a world away from big cities and theme parks. It's the kind of ambiance that lured famed novelist Ernest Hemingway to reside in Key West from 1929 to 1939. The subtropical island's lush environment and colorful residents provided Hemingway substantial creative inspiration. Key West was his home when he wrote some of his most famous works including "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "To Have and Have Not" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." Hemingway's former residence, inhabited by descendants of his six-toed cats, today is a public museum that honors his literary prowess and the affection he had for his Key West lifestyle.

A necklace of islands that begins just south of Miami, the Florida Keys are connected by 43 bridges - one almost seven miles long - over the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Islands are strung together by the Overseas Highway, designated in 2009 as an All-American Road by the National Scenic Byways program administered by the Federal Highway Administration.

The area is divided into five regions including Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine and the Lower Keys, and Key West. Each region has its own special flavor, attractions including historic museums, flora, fauna, seafood restaurants, fishing, diving, watersports and unique, boutique-type shopping experiences.

Vistas of the Keys are dominated by emerald-green lagoons, deep-blue seas, nodding palms, rustling pines and olive-green mangroves. Sharing this eco-paradise are white herons, roseate spoonbills, pelicans, sea gulls, ospreys and countless underwater creatures.

The coastal waters of the entire 125-mile island chain, including its shallow water flats, mangrove islets and coral reefs, have been designated the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

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